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comfortable, at least so far. It was amazing he had guessed her size perfectly.

    “Might as well get this over with,” she said with a sigh. “The faster I get downstairs, the faster I can find a way out of here.” As she came down the stairs, Agnus nodded his approval. “Mikayla, this is Celine.
    She will show you around the bar and the storeroom, as well as inform you of the rules and what is to be expected of you.”
    Celine was a pretty girl, not quite as tall as Mikayla. Her blonde hair hung to her waist and was thick and straight as a stick. She had blue eyes and what looked like a series of swirling designs tattooed on her neck.
    “I have paperwork to do, so I will leave you in Celine's capable hands.” As he walked off, he turned and added as an afterthought, “Oh, and Mikayla, there will be no more escape attempts. I don't put up with that kind of nonsense, and I assure you, you will not like the punishment. Have I made myself clear?”
    “Crystal,” she replied.
    Once Agnus was gone, Mikayla asked, “Is he always so gruff?”
    “Yeah. But he is okay once you get to know him and as long as you do not give him any trouble.”
    “How long have you been here?”
    Mikayla studied the layout of the bar as she listened to Celine talk.
    “About two years. The other girl that was here, the one you are replacing, left to get married.”
    She saw Celine fill a pitcher of water at the faucet and remembered what she wanted to ask. “Where does the water come from?”
    Celine raised her eyes to her and smiled slightly. “There are several storage tanks located throughout the ship. It continually refilters itself.” She shrugged. “So basically, you just use the same water over and over again. Periodically, it gets low and a supply ship will bring more, but what is in the tanks will last a long time.” Mikayla walked over to the main door and stood before it, silently hoping it would just slide open. When it didn't, she looked around for a button.
    “You might as well give up. I can assure you, it is locked and remains locked.” She looked at Celine and shrugged. “Can't blame a girl for trying.”
    “No, I guess not. So, are you ready to learn the bar?”
    “As ready as I'll ever be,” she replied.
    Celine then began to show her the drinks and how to make them. Most of the men just ordered the Tilariun Ale, but some would want something a little more exotic. She also explained about the officers getting preferential treatment -- meaning they were served first and were always shown respect by being addressed by their rank or title.
    “Don't worry, I'll help you with the names,” Celine said. “Oh, and also, there is one officer that comes in most mornings and has Korniga with Agnus. Apparently he

    and Agnus are very close. I usually try to be somewhere else when he is here, because he makes me very nervous. I do not like him. You might want to avoid him as well.” Mikayla wanted to ask her more, but Agnus returned saying they should order some food for breakfast. Celine said that later, when the bar was open, they would each take a dinner break separately so that someone was always there to help Agnus. “He always keeps menus from the eating lounge behind the bar, so just tell him what you want and he'll have it delivered.”
    Mikayla frowned at the menu and the words that looked like chicken scratch to her. Apparently it was too much to hope that their menu would be in English and not some alien language she couldn't begin to understand. Unsure of what to order, she let Celine do it and hoped the food was edible, because she was starving.
    * * * * *
    Sidious had spent most of the previous day and night down on Earth going over attack plans with some of the flyers. Satellites orbiting Earth had been destroyed as soon as Earth refused to surrender, effectively knocking out all communications. If they were smart, which Sidious was pretty sure they were, then they had a backup plan for communications in